2017-03-04 - Young, Daniel 1-0 Stockwell, Mark
[Event "4NCL Div. 2"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.03.04"] [Round "7.6"] [White "Young, Daniel J"] [Black "Stockwell, Mark B"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C82"] [WhiteElo "175"] [BlackElo "186"] [Annotator "Young,Daniel J"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [SourceDate "2017.03.04"] [WhiteTeam "Downend & Fishponds"] [BlackTeam "The ADs"] {A beginner learns early on that "two pieces beat rook and pawn." Inevitably, the truth is more complicated, as I hope to show with this game. Besides, they make me write all the match reports - I have to be allowed to show off a bit, right?} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 {Black looks for active piece play in this system, so the tactics often start early. White regains the pawn easily enough, but then needs to make his development count.} 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 {I was unaware that theory considers 9. Nbd2 best. There are too many lines to cover here, but suffice to say that 9. c3 has been put to sleep by the game continuation.} Bc5 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bc2 Nxf2 $5 {Our beginner would be offended, but this trade is fully justified: it targets White's Achilles' Heel in the Ruy Lopez, his sleepy queenside. The pieces prevail if White can complete his development - but with Black getting all the play on the open e- and f-files this is not so easy!} 12. Rxf2 f6 13. exf6 Bxf2+ 14. Kxf2 Qxf6 15. Nf1 {White's task is to hide his king then get the queenside out; Nf1 unleashes the c1 bishop and will ideally be followed by Kg1 and Bg5. Alas, Black can move too!} Ne5 {I suspected an oversight when I saw this. The pin on f3 ties White up, and Black can continue improving with .. .Rae8 and ...Bg4. To change the course of events I made a paradoxical choice:} 16. Kg1 $6 {It's time to reveal the secret: the pieces work best in the middlegame, when they have many targets, whereas the rook's mobility shines in endings. Yet White offers a pawn to trade queens! The simplification buys me some time - and air - to untangle the queenside. Unfortunately this isn't the best move, but it is the most instructive.} (16. Be3 $142 {is theory. Black should be OK after} Rae8 (16... Nxf3 $2 17. gxf3 Qh4+ 18. Kg1 c6 19. Bc5 Rf7 20. Qe2 $16 {leaves White's king safe, with easy development. See Richardson-Estrin, World Correspondence Ch. 1978, in which Black was torn to ribbons once the bishops got going.}) (16... Ng4+ $2 {was what I feared - I often overvalue the two bishops - but simplification helps White:} 17. Kg1 Nxe3 18. Nxe3 c6 19. Qd3 g6 20. Qd4 $16) 17. Bc5 Nxf3 18. gxf3 Rf7 {White remains tied up - 19. Qd3?? loses to 19... Bf5 20. Qxf5 Qh4+. An interesting line is} 19. Kg2 Qg5+ 20. Ng3 d4 $1 {, a clearance sacrifice to get his bishop into play.} 21. Bxd4 c5 22. Bf2 Rxf3 23. Be4 {(23. Qxf3 Bd5)} Bh3+ 24. Kxh3 Rxf2 { and after the forced} 25. Qd5+ Qxd5 26. Bxd5+ Kf8 $11 {Black's rooks are active enough to at least hold the balance.}) 16... Nxf3+ 17. Qxf3 Qxf3 18. gxf3 Rxf3 {So the first part of White's programme is complete: his king is safe. Now he must develop the queenside whilst keeping Black's rooks off the second rank: if he can, then the two bishops promise him an advantage.} 19. Be3 Bh3 20. Bd4 Re8 21. Ng3 {Preventing ...Re2. Now comes an amazing mutual oversight - Black's reply is an obvious mistake, but it was the only move I was afraid of!} h5 $2 {What Krogius called a "retained image": both players overlooked the answer, because they saw a pawn on h7!} (21... g6 $142 { I think the computer underestimates White's plan of trading rooks by Bf2/Re1: as we know, Black is happy to simplify in principle, but here it kills off his initiative.} 22. Bf2 Kf7 23. Re1 Rxe1+ {(surrendering the e-file is out of the question)} 24. Bxe1 c6 {White breaks free with} 25. Bd1 Re3 26. Kf2 Re7 27. Bf3 $11 {and with two bishops he looks OK, but no more. So 16. Kg1 is only an equalising attempt - albeit a good one!}) 22. Bg6 Re6 23. Bxh5 Rd3 24. Ne2 { White has his pawn, but Black's rooks have become active. This cuts off the d3 rook from the kingside, and threatens an omni-fork on f4.} Re4 $6 {Setting a two-move trap (25. Bg6?? Rg4+) but White's king advances with tempo by renewing the threat. The best defence was 24... g5, stopping Nf4 once and for all, when Black should survive.} 25. Kf2 Bg4 (25... Rd2 $143 $2 {Black has to eliminate one of the bishops before taking the plunge:} 26. Rg1 Rxb2 27. Rxg7+ Kf8 28. Rf7+ Kg8 29. Rxc7 $18 {and White is cruising, for example} Rxa2 $2 30. Bf7+ Kf8 31. Bc5+ Kg7 32. Bxd5+) 26. Bxg4 Rxg4 27. b4 {If you learn one thing about rook against two pieces: the side with two pieces *must* keep his remaining rook (cf. the note White's 16th), so 27. Rg1 is no good. 27. a4?! b4 is needless counterplay, which leaves this preparatory move.} Rd2 $2 {Black must prepare this with 27... Re4, but White can keep a slight advantage with 28. Ng3!, intending to evacuate his king to h3.} 28. a4 $2 Rh4 $2 29. Ke3 { Not even I can miss such a move twice: now the king breaks free and the game is decided.} Rb2 30. Nf4 $18 {Getting here is worth the wait: the knight controls h3 and e2 with d5 as a bonus. The h-pawn is irrelevant, since my rook is about to join the festivities.} Rhxh2 31. axb5 axb5 32. Rg1 {Preventing any counterplay with ...g5. 32... Rh7 33. Nxd5 is easy now that there are no checks on the second rank, but the game is also hopeless.} Kf8 33. Rxg7 c6 34. Rc7 {White too is not above two-move traps (34... Rh6 35. Bg7+) and now Black's queenside collapses - but he lost on time. What is the lesson of this game? Two pieces are better than a rook, all things being equal - but they are often unequal. Like most strategic 'laws', it depends on the position: I simplified to follow the principles of defence, not of BN vs R. In short: always keep an open mind!} 1-0
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